❓ Mr. Love questions WA's low ranking in infrastructure spending compared to other states, citing an Infrastructure Partnerships Australia report. The Premier dismisses the concern, highlighting the state's extensive infrastructure pipeline and low unemployment rate, attributing delays to industry capacity.
AnsweredQoN 777Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT
777. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to the Australian
infrastructure budget monitor 2022–23 report released today by
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. Does the Premier think it is acceptable
that Western Australia is the lowest-ranked jurisdiction in the country for
general government expenditure on infrastructure, and why is Western Australia
lagging in eighth spot, spending less than half as much on infrastructure as
Victoria?
777. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to the Australian
infrastructure budget monitor 2022–23 report released today by
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. Does the Premier think it is acceptable
that Western Australia is the lowest-ranked jurisdiction in the country for
general government expenditure on infrastructure, and why is Western Australia
lagging in eighth spot, spending less than half as much on infrastructure as
Victoria?
AnswerView source ↗
I
am unaware of the organisation that the member referred to. I understand that
it is a private organisation. I do know this: a remarkable amount of
infrastructure is being built, and our biggest problem is that we have too
much! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition's complaint is that we do not
have enough, but we have so much that the industry itself is having difficulty
building it all. We can compare that with the opposite problem, which was the
opposition's problem in office, when it had us in recession and
there was a 6.4 per cent unemployment rate. Our unemployment rate is now down
near three per cent and we have an infrastructure pipeline worth around $32 billion
or $33 billion. We have had to smooth some into future years to keep up the
pipeline. I do not wish to quote Joh Bjelke-Petersen, but I will. When you look
out across the city and the suburbs, all you see is cranes, because there is so
much infrastructure being built out there! I always had a very dim view of Joh
Bjelke-Petersen when I was a student at the University of Queensland, but his
crane theory is starting to grow on me. The more cranes you see, the more activity is out there. That actually has a bit of
sense to it. We have a massive infrastructure pipeline being built, and we are very proud of it.
am unaware of the organisation that the member referred to. I understand that
it is a private organisation. I do know this: a remarkable amount of
infrastructure is being built, and our biggest problem is that we have too
much! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition's complaint is that we do not
have enough, but we have so much that the industry itself is having difficulty
building it all. We can compare that with the opposite problem, which was the
opposition's problem in office, when it had us in recession and
there was a 6.4 per cent unemployment rate. Our unemployment rate is now down
near three per cent and we have an infrastructure pipeline worth around $32 billion
or $33 billion. We have had to smooth some into future years to keep up the
pipeline. I do not wish to quote Joh Bjelke-Petersen, but I will. When you look
out across the city and the suburbs, all you see is cranes, because there is so
much infrastructure being built out there! I always had a very dim view of Joh
Bjelke-Petersen when I was a student at the University of Queensland, but his
crane theory is starting to grow on me. The more cranes you see, the more activity is out there. That actually has a bit of
sense to it. We have a massive infrastructure pipeline being built, and we are very proud of it.
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